DESPITE a lack of activity, owners operating large tonnage from the Middle East Gulf saw some improvement in rates last week, the cumulative effect of a recent high volume of fixing and a marked increase in utilisation of large tonnage from other areas.
The latest rate paid for a 260,000 to 300,000 tonner discharging in Europe was Worldscale (WS) 45, with a discount of 2.5 points for the option of US Gulf still obtainable.
The level for the short-haul trade is between WS 45 and WS 50, depending on size and destination. One charterer conceded WS 55 to move a cargo to Japan of 250,000 tonnes.
Aframax tonnage has again found it difficult with only sporadic opportunities. A cargo of 75,000 tonnes was closed to Singapore at WS 85 and a 94,000 tonner obtained WS 80 to New Zealand.
The only fixture reported of a million-barrel vessel was at WS 65 for discharge in China.
In West Africa there was a slight increase in the amount of fixtures concluded, however the supply of tonnage heavily outweighed demand and rates struggled to maintain already disappointing levels.